He's smart, he's good looking, and he's got a great sense of humor. He's Dexter Morgan, everyone's favorite serial killer. As a Miami forensics expert, he spends his days solving crimes, & nights committing them. But Dexter lives by a strict code of honor that is both his saving grace and lifelong burden. Torn between his deadly compulsion and his desire for true happiness, Dexter is a man in profound conflict with the world and himself.

DARK ECHO tells a story in which Dexter is challenged by a copy-cat killer who does not follow any sort of code. Dark Echo opens immediately after the death of Dexter's father, Harry, with Dexter in his early twenties and his sister Debra still in high school. Dexter is enrolled in medical school where he's studying anatomy to improve his "craft." During a routine kill, Dexter realizes that another student has been spying on him and knows that he is a serial killer. He confronts the student after he begins to commit murders in Dexter's style and the two clash over the ethics of their situations.